Elderly Garden City Couple Comes Under Fire from Madman, Fires Back

Garden City, Utah has a population of 563 people. An amount considered small even by Utah standards, so when news broke of an intense shootout occurring in the tiny town it’s fair to say that it was quite shocking that something this violent had come to their home.

April and Michael Carnahan, an elderly couple who reside in the Sweetwater Trailer Park in Garden City were the unknowing targets of a spree style shooting at around 12:30 in the afternoon on Sunday, September 24th.

The perpetrator, who was later identified as Rick Bywater had made it apparent on his Facebook page just minutes before the shooting that something terrible was running through his mind before he took that trip to the trailer park and targeted the elderly couple. He stated that “I’m all alone“ and also that “You pushed me to the edge.”

It’s unclear at this time just what Bywater was upset about or if he had any prior animosity to the Carnahan’s but they were his target nevertheless. He grabbed a shotgun from his home and headed towards the couple’s trailer.

Bywater never even made it into the trailer before he started shooting. Firing instead through the siding and the window. His rounds pushed their way through all of the objects in the trailer and into April and Michael’s bodies.

However, this couple was not the kind to accept the grim reaper at their door so easily. A preliminary investigation by the local police states that from inside the trailer, gunfire was returned towards Bywater and even in the midst of the chaos the rounds struck true, hitting the deranged Bywater and killing him before his suicidal shooting spree could continue any further.

After police and ambulances arrived, Michael and April Carnahan were rushed to the hospital where they received surgery for their wounds. As of Monday, it is being reported from relatives and others close to the couple that they are doing much better and their injuries are not life-threatening.

This is yet another case of a defensive shooter not only saving their own life and the life of their loved one, but it shows another often overlooked fact of defensive shooters and that’s how many extra lives they saved. Bywater was on a suicidal mission to hurt or kill people around him. The gunfire that struck him down stopped him from doing that, and it is due to a hero who in their worst hour of anguish and dread was able to get ahold of themselves for long enough to save lives.

What do you think of this story? Do you think that your home is gun ready enough to defend from a threat like this? Let us know in the comments below.